A Totally Different Story
by bloodsucking-llama
Summary: AU - Nobody even dreamed that popular Sakura would like infamous Syaoran. But when she gets stuck in the same room with him, things change. SS, some ET.
1. A Story to Tell

Part 1: A Story To Tell  
  
Hi, my name is Iris. And yup, that's the family album you're looking at. There's my dad with his mouth wide open, as usual. And there's mommy in her wedding gown! Aw, look at me, I was so cute! I still am, now that I think about it. All of these pictures were taken with my mom's camera. She says she had that camera from the beginning of high school. I didn't believe her until Aunty Tomoyo told me the story about how my mom and dad fell in love.  
  
When I first heard it, I thought it was disgusting, but now I think it's rather romantic. I like to have Aunty Tomoyo tell the me the story over and over and over again, but she isn't always around because most of the time she's traveling around the world with that guy she's going to marry soon.  
  
Don't get me wrong and think that my mommy and dad aren't always around, because they are, to the point where it almost drives me insane. But that's a totally different story. The story that I'm about to tell you is the story about how my mom and dad fell in love, as I'm sure you've all ready guessed.  
  
Well, enough stalling!  
  
You see, back in the day, my mom was a really popular girl. She was a photographer.  
"Hey, Sakura, don't you ever stop taking pictures?" a voice called out from behind Sakura. Sakura turned around and smiled.  
  
"Hey, Tomoyo," she answered when Tomoyo caught up. Sakura blushed slightly and put her camera away in her bag.  
  
"Hey, Tomoyo," a mocking sound came from behind Sakura and Tomoyo. They both turned around to see The Dragon gang. Sakura had to tug a lock of Tomoyo's long hair as a warning. Both of them really couldn't risk getting a detention when it was so close to the school year ending when they could both receive certificates.  
  
Meilin Li, the girl of the gang, blew a large piece of bubblegum and popped it. She took the piece out of her mouth and tossed it on to Sakura's shoe. Sakura, however, didn't react. She just stood there and stared at Meilin.  
  
Meilin smirked and looked back at the five other males. They all sneered. It seemed that Meilin was about to cause a big commotion, which would make the empty hall fill with people, including the principle, which was definitely something that was not needed.  
  
The principle was new and he wanted to make a good impression of himself, so he was always assuming things and throwing kids into detention for doing absolutely nothing. Which would mean no certificates.  
  
So Sakura smiled, grabbed Tomoyo's arm, and dragged her into the girl's bathroom, which was only a few feet away from them. Sakura locked the door and sighed in relief.  
  
"That was a close call," Sakura said as she disgustedly took a piece of paper towel and picked the gum off of her shoe.  
  
"I know what you mean. Hey, let's check if they left yet. We're missing lunch!"  
  
They had indeed left, so Sakura and Tomoyo ran off to the cafeteria. Sakura and Tomoyo separated when they arrived at the musical clique table. Sakura stopped at every table during lunchtime in an attempt to at least get in one conversation with all of her friends. She arrived at the cheerleading table and half grinned, half groaned when she saw Billie Jean sitting there.  
  
"Why, hello Sakura Kinomoto," Billie said in that angelic voice of hers.  
  
"Hey, Billie Jean," Sakura said in a strained, kind voice.  
  
Billie Jean and Sakura had been enemies ever since the sixth grade when Billie didn't make the cheerleading squad and Sakura did. Billie was soon able to join, though, because Sakura quit when she learned her love for photography. Not only had Sakura hated Billie because she was always pestering her, but she always made rumors about her.  
  
'Billie Jean the gossip queen.' That's her nickname. She either spreads rumors to gossip or she snoops around for gossip. She's at the top of news at all times. If you wanted to know whether Freddy Young really liked you, go to her. If you want to know if you failed your chemistry exam, go to her. Gossiping was the only reason Billie Jean was so popular, though, because she gossiped just as much as was a brat.  
  
And it seemed that Billie Jean had some news for Sakura.  
  
Sakura could see it in the twinkle of her blue eyes, the small, yet well hidden grin, the way she wrung her napkin around and around.  
  
"So, Sakura, hear any good news lately?" Billie asked.  
  
The girls on the cheerleading squad turned to Billie Jean instantly. Sakura sighed, rolled her eyes, and sat down. There was no use in fighting Billie Jean over these sort of things. Besides, if it's the news that Billie Jean is telling, then you were sure to hear it sometime later in the day, if not the next period.  
  
Billie Jean went on with her dramatic entrance for her gossiping style before she came to the point. "Syaoran Li likes you."  
  
Sakura screamed and stood up so quickly her chair went flying backwards. When she realized that she caught everyone's attention and everyone was staring at her, she blushed, waved, smiled, and hurried in closer to Billie Jean.  
  
"What do you mean Syaoran Li likes me?"  
  
"Exactly what I said," Billie said with a grin. "He's liked you since the seventh grade."  
  
The girls of the cheerleading squad were separated by the looks on their faces: pure disgust, pity, or the look of relief that says, 'Well, at least it's not me!'  
  
See, Syaoran Li was pretty infamous. At first, every girl fell drop dead in love with him because he was the king of hunks, and he still is, but they soon realized very quickly that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Syaoran was bad to the bone, and that was definitely not cheerleading material.  
  
In P.E. the first day he came, he made himself well known from how well he played soccer, and the cheerleaders were hoping he was going to try and be a jock, but then their hopes sunk when he 'accidentally' kicked the soccer ball at the coach's head and made a direct contact.  
  
The coach was out of work for five weeks.  
  
The news (spread by Billie Jean, of course) was known everywhere, and the news of his cousin, Meilin Li, was no different. Turns out she had sworn at the English teacher, stole items from the principle's desk, and sprayed graffiti all over the place.  
  
And that was only the first day.  
  
After that, Syaoran and Meilin seemed to be competing for how many bad things they could do everyday before they got suspension notices. When they finally did get suspension notices, it only got worst. Finally, the notorious group known as The Dragons had Syaoran and Meilin do what no one could do for about five years: they made them members.  
  
Sakura had always been forbidden to go anywhere near gangs, so it was out of the question that she even think about Syaoran that way, but now that news was out that Syaoran was thinking about her that way. What was she going to do?  
"Pretend to like him back and then dump him in front of everybody."  
  
"Let him know that you're repulsed by him."  
  
"Tell him he's going to have to think twice if he thinks you're going to go out with him."  
  
"Don't go near him."  
  
Sakura sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Oh, Tomoyo, I wasn't thinking about doing that anyways."  
  
Sakura was sitting down inside of the music room on the big black couch. Relaxing, classical music was being played, and it seemed that every girl from the music class was now surrounding Sakura.  
  
"No, I mean go absolutely nowhere near him! Don't even let him see you! What if he catches you alone and tries to hurt you?"  
  
The girls nodded in agreement. Sakura thought about it, then she said, "But if he's really liked me this long, why didn't he just hurt me all of those times he's caught me alone?"  
  
The girls paused before, once again, nodded in agreement. Tomoyo, however, sighed and shrugged. "All right, Sakura.."  
  
The bell rang. Sakura, Tomoyo, and a few other girls got up to leave for homeroom, while others stayed behind. They were excused from homeroom to be able to practice and just stay straight into first period.  
  
When homeroom started, the room was buzzing with the latest gossip about Sakura and Syaoran. It was interrupted, however, by the homeroom teacher who looked disgruntled.  
  
"If you don't settle down, I'll just cancel the whole thing!"  
  
"What whole thing?" Billie Jean asked, trying to be on top of things, once again.  
  
"The surprise trip."  
  
The whole room went up in excited chatter and questions. The teacher raised his hand for silence, and then he continued.  
  
"We will be leaving for Kokyo for two weeks. It is required that you come. Partners will be picked randomly. You and this partner will receive a room in a hotel, and you must get along nicely. You will pose as husband and wife. You will receive an electronic doll, which will pose as the baby. The baby will have records of how well you and your partner are doing and will also give future tips and future facts."  
  
"What's the catch?" Cy Bate asked suspiciously.  
  
"No monkey business," the teacher said harshly, and the classroom groaned. Then he smirked and added, "Class projects from each class is required as well."  
  
"But hey!" someone said from the back.  
  
"We're leaving!" someone said from the side of the room.  
  
"Unfortunately, not today," the teacher muttered as he sat down at his desk.  
  
"This is great," Tomoyo whispered to Sakura.  
  
"It'll be fate," Lauren Huck said dreamily from beside Tomoyo, and it was obvious what she was thinking about: Cy Bate. She had an obsession, and she seemed to think that Cy and she would be married.  
  
Tomoyo and Sakura rolled their eyes and grinned.  
  
"I hope I go nowhere near him," a girl from the center of the classroom announced after seeing The Dragons weren't there.  
  
"Who would 'him' be?" Billie Jean asked curiously.  
  
"You know, him, that Syaoran Li."  
  
The girls nodded in agreement.  
  
"I hope I get to be with her," one of the boys from a silent corner of the room announced as quietly as he could.  
  
"Who-?" the boys started to ask, but then they nodded and grinned. "Ooh."  
  
"Yes, I mean the one, the only Ms. Kinomoto."  
  
The bell rang and everyone jumped up to leave in a hurry.  
  
"I hope I do good on this project," Sakura said to Tomoyo.  
  
"I hope I do good as well," she replied worriedly as they continued to the music room.  
  
"No worries," Chiharu said as she and Naoko caught up.  
  
"Everything will go swell!"  
  
The four entered the music room and sat down. The rest of the class was all ready there.  
  
"I wonder if the baby will say-" Lauren started.  
  
" 'If Cy will marry me?'" Billie finished. "No way!"  
  
"Hey, it's a possibility," Sakura said kindly.  
  
"Yeah, in an impossible love story," Meilin said as she entered the room. The room became instantly silent. The five high school boys behind her were smirking slightly, and Meilin eyed the room. She looked at the boys behind her and nodded, and the six of them went to a corner in the back.  
  
Tomoyo glanced nervously at Sakura, and then she glanced at the group in the way back.  
  
"What'chus lookin' at?" Terry Rock barked.  
  
Everyone instantly swerved around and stared dead at the chalk board. They would've had to anyways, because the teacher had just walked inside. He looked very unhappy that The Dragons gang had decided to show up, and with reason. They sung off key, they 'accidentally' dropped the most expensive instruments, breaking five of them, and they threw paper and wet, chewed up gum at the other students all class period. It was all over, soon, though... Thank God, it was all over.  
At homeroom the next morning, the pairings were to be made. It would be a simple drawing out of a hat. Tomoyo blushed and restrained herself from giggling madly when she was paired up with Eriol Hiirigizawa. She had a huge crush on him, as he did her. Sakura was happy for them.  
  
In the end, Cy and Lauren did get paired up (Cy had to be carried to the hospital after class because he tried to hang himself in the boys' locker room). Billie Jean got paired up with Freddy Young, Chiharu with Takashi Yamazaki, and Naoko with Tyler Hughes. So far so good. Oh, wait, it's the moment of truth! The teacher has just announced Sakura's name!  
  
Tomoyo gripped the edge of her chair. She was just as antsy as Sakura was.  
  
The teacher didn't seem to really be paying attention to this, though. In fact, it was like time had stopped, almost as if he wasn't even thinking about reading the paper he had just drawn out. Then again, maybe it was because that was exactly what was happening.  
  
The teacher seemed to be lost in uncontrollable silent fits of laughter. He then stuttered out, "S-Syaoran Li."  
  
Billie Jean burst out laughing. Tomoyo looked horrified. Sakura sunk low into her chair with a groan. The members of The Dragons gang, however, seemed thrilled. They had bothered coming to this homeroom for the soul purpose of seeing who he would be paired up with. Not they, as in individuals, but he, as in Syaoran. They were hoping he'd be able to pair up with Sakura. Think of all the torment he'd be able to cause her!  
  
"This is just great," Tomoyo groaned.  
  
"It's fate," Lauren snorted. 


	2. A Bad Beginning for a Story

Part 2: A Bad Beginning for a Story  
  
My parents definitely got off to a rough start. On the bus to Kokyo, dad, Aunty Meilin, and the other Dragons mocked mommy. At the restaurant for lunch break, The Dragons would not only terrorize the other students, but they would terrorize the other customers as well. The teacher didn't seem to care, though. He did, however, make a small speech about behavior problems affecting both of the students' grades, to mommy's great dismay.  
  
On the bus, the partners were forced to sit next to each other for the rest of the way to Kokyo. Dad would always tell mommy to move over and give him room. He would also disrespect her as much as he could. He didn't even bother to pretend any of it was by accident! Mommy couldn't mouth off at him, though, because she was afraid she would lose points on her grade for behavior, and by the looks of it, she would need all the points she could get.  
  
When my parents arrived at the hotel room, things went from bad to worse. Mommy couldn't take it anymore, and she finally blew off at dad when he took more than seventy five percent of the room to himself! She couldn't say anymore to him, though, because the teacher had just arrived with the baby. Dad didn't really seem to notice or care. All he did was start smoking, right there in front of the baby! That definitely was not a plus to their grades.  
  
Mommy and dad went for three days before Aunty Tomoyo decided to talk to mommy. They went down to the café that was in the hotel; it seemed that they weren't the only ones with the idea to go down to the café, because it was packed with students.  
"So, how're you doing?" Tomoyo asked as she and Sakura sat down.  
  
"Tomoyo, how could you ask such a thing? You're the one that suggested I kept the baby with Eriol since he's taking care of your baby too."  
  
"Tao."  
  
"Tao?"  
  
"That's the name we decided on: Tao."  
  
Sakura bit her tongue so she wouldn't scream in frustration. She had totally forgotten about naming the baby!  
  
"Don't tell me you forgot to name her," Tomoyo said in pure concern. Sakura nodded.  
  
"That Syaoran Li. He's a pain in the neck! He always yells at me, he tried to take over our room, he's so disrespectful, he doesn't worry about the class projects, and all he does is smoke, watch T.V., and hang around in his boxers. Oh, why does this have to happen to me?"  
  
Tomoyo put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry."  
  
Sakura felt a little nervous. She could tell that Tomoyo had a plan, and her plans were usually very scary. Very, very scary. But what else did Sakura have? Sakura would fail tenth grade if she didn't do well on this project, and she didn't think Syaoran cared if he failed school for the rest of his life.  
  
"What's the plan?" Sakura sighed.  
  
Tomoyo smirked and she sipped some of her coffee. She reached into her purse, paid for both cups of coffee, including the tip, and got up to leave. "Just use your talents."  
  
Sakura sat there for a while, sipping her coffee, trying to figure out what Tomoyo meant, when she finally understood it. "Eureka!" She jumped up, grabbed her bag, and raced back towards the hotel.  
"Syaoran, we're naming the baby Iris, all right?"  
  
Syaoran took a long drag of his cigarette, blew smoke into Sakura's face, and shrugged. "Whatever."  
  
Sakura growled, but she had to control herself. Her plan was all she had left. She took a deep breath and continued, "You know, you really should stop smoking."  
  
Syaoran snorted. He picked up the remote and turned on the T.V.  
  
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Sakura said with a small grin. She picked up Iris and headed for the door. Syaoran, only slightly curious what she meant by this, didn't watch her leave. or seemingly leave. Instead, she picked up her camera and took a picture of Syaoran.  
  
Syaoran blinked from the flash and stared at her, then he growled when he realized what she was doing. She was blackmailing him! She held in her hand a picture of Syaoran, lying there in his boxers, and smoking.  
  
"Lets see," Sakura said, smiling down at Iris. "Do you think your daddy would like to have this picture put on every wall of this hotel?"  
  
Syaoran jumped up and grabbed for the picture, but Sakura put it behind her back. "No," she said firmly to Syaoran, as if he was some dog she was training. "No," she repeated. "You have to quit smoking, or at least around Iris. We're failing because of you!"  
  
"So?"  
  
"Syaoran, I don't care if you don't care about your health and your grades, but I care about my health and my grades! I have to breathe that junk in too, you know! And I'm planning on actually getting to eleventh grade next year!"  
  
Syaoran crossed his arms and glared down at Sakura, who only stared firmly back up at him. Syaoran smirked slightly and picked up a fake wine bottle from the table beside them. It was only there for decoration and it was filled with red dyed water.  
  
At first, Sakura flinched. She thought he was going to hit her, but instead he opened the wine bottle and poured the contents all over her white blouse. The water went down her front and onto her skirt. Sakura chewed on the side of her mouth before she whispered, "I didn't really think you liked your skin to be shown so much, and especially to the whole hotel, filled with people you don't even know. After all, I thought you had a reputation to maintain."  
  
Syaoran narrowed his eyes. He dropped the cigarette to the ground and he stepped on the end. He walked back over to the bed, laid back on it, and started watching the sports channel.  
  
Sakura sighed in relief, though she was in a deep, silent rage that Syaoran ruined her clothes. She rested Iris down on her bed, picked out some of her clothes from her drawer, and she went into the bathroom to change.  
  
Thanks for all of the reviews! 


	3. A Confusing Moment in a Story

Part 3: A Confusing Moment in a Story  
  
Pictures in her hand, my mommy had dad under her control. No matter what, though, she couldn't stop him from climbing out of the windows in the middle of the night to be with The Dragons. Nothing would keep him away from them.  
  
It was strange. My mommy had seen dad go off to be with The Dragons, but she didn't see what could possibly be so important to have him leave in the middle of the night, totally ignoring the pictures mommy threatened him with.  
  
Mommy found out what he was going off to talk to The Dragons about, though. He was probably getting advise from them about his father. See, the English project was to write a descriptive story about what life was like as an adult. Mommy was suspicious when she saw dad doing his work, so she snatched away the paper. She realized it was a letter and, not reading it, gave it back to him, demanding where his work was.  
  
One demand went to another argument. Dad kept saying that the letter was more important to him. Mommy yelled what could possibly be more important that their English grade, and dad yelled back at her that his father was dying; it was a letter he was writing to him. He left suddenly, and he didn't turn back when mommy called out to him.  
  
This was definitely a time of need to talk to Aunty Tomoyo.  
Sakura sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't think so, Tomoyo. He just won't talk."  
  
Tomoyo sipped some of her coffee. "Well, I asked Eriol, and that's what he said. 'To get a man to talk when he doesn't want to, you'd have to corner him.' What's better than just getting better and more embarrassing pictures of him?"  
  
"I don't know. It just doesn't seem right. His father is dying. To do that."  
  
"All right, fine," Tomoyo sighed. "Don't blackmail him. But then how're you going to get him to talk?"  
  
Sakura shrugged. She tapped a finger on the edge of her mug when she finally got it. "Eureka! I'll get back to you, Tomoyo!"  
  
Tomoyo blinked. She sighed and took a sip of her coffee as Sakura ran out of the front door.  
"You've been snooping," Syaoran glared at Sakura. Sakura backed up into the wall nervously.  
  
"Maybe so, but I had to if you wouldn't tell me," she said quietly.  
  
"The business of the Li Clan and I are strictly out of anyone's concern!" Syaoran yelled. He punched the wall behind Sakura, making her flinch.  
  
"Yeah, and that's why you sneak out every night to talk about it to your friends," Sakura said boldly.  
  
If possible, Syaoran's glare became harder and darker. Sakura could do nothing but stare into his angry brown eyes.  
  
After a moment of heavy silence, Sakura cleared her throat and said, "Well, if you want to talk about it-"  
  
Syaoran laughed coldly pulled away from the wall. "I'll talk to you when purple pigs start swimming underneath the ocean and when my father starts to get better. If you think I'm going to talk to you just to make 'the relationship' work, you've got another thing coming."  
  
Sakura shook her head. "I don't care about the relationship. I care about you."  
  
Syaoran turned around and stared wonderingly at Sakura, before he shook his head and turned towards the door, muttering about stupid girls.  
  
Sakura had to do something and fast. She had to corner him; it was her only choice. "I thought you liked me!" she yelled.  
  
Syaoran stopped dead in his tracks. He just stood there, staring at the door that was one foot away from him.  
  
"You sure aren't acting like it," she whispered. "I'm only trying to be your friend. Most boys would take advantage of such a situation."  
  
"I'm not like most boys."  
  
"As the future Leader of the Li Clan, you should try to be more like one."  
  
"And we go back to the snooping," Syaoran said sarcastically. He turned around and crossed his arms angrily. "It's very unladylike to snoop around in other people's business."  
  
"You'd be surprised at how unladylike I can be," Sakura smiled.  
  
Syaoran sighed. "You're never going to give up, are you?"  
  
Sakura's smile turned into a grin and she shook her head.  
  
Syaoran sighed and walked over to his bed. He laid down lazily and stared at the ceiling, and after a while, he said, "I just rather not be the Leader of the Li Clan. I'd rather be normal."  
  
"You just said that you're not like most boys."  
  
Syaoran sat up. "Yeah, and that's true, but there's a bit of a difference between being in a well-hated gang than be the leader of a well-known clan."  
  
"But as the Leader of the Li Clan, you'd have a much better life. I hate to say it, but when I checked Iris's future records, it says that you'll most likely care less about your job and your baby when you grow older. You'll also be an abusive husband, and you'll most likely end up in jail."  
  
Syaoran shrugged it all off. "I'll simply not get married and I won't have a kid."  
  
"Every person needs to have their own family, Syaoran!"  
  
"I have my gang. As for the family part," he added with one of those disrespecting smirks, "if I ever do have a family, it would be by accident, and trust me, I won't stick around too long anyways."  
  
Sakura got up, crossed the room, and slapped Syaoran. Hard. "You can't possibly be that cold."  
  
Syaoran stared dead into Sakura's eyes and replied, "Oh yes I can."  
  
Sakura ran towards the door, grabbed her coat, and ran down the hallway. She heard footsteps running after her and realized it was Syaoran. She did a double turn, walking towards Syaoran, and did a quick turn into Eriol and Tomoyo's room. When she opened the door, she realized they were out, at the café most likely.  
  
Sakura slammed the door shut, but it didn't close. Syaoran was leaning against the door frame, his foot in the way. He was smirking down at Sakura, which made her just want to slap him again.  
  
"You lost us points."  
  
Sakura glared hard at Syaoran, but he merely sighed and looked down at the ground, his smirk growing all the more.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sakura growled.  
  
"You lost us points on our project for domestic violence."  
  
Sakura blushed, but she didn't have time to reply.  
  
"Do you want to go down to the café? Get a cup of coffee and calm down?"  
  
Sakura crossed her arms and said stiffly, "I suppose."  
'Everyone is staring at us,' Sakura thought as she and Syaoran entered the room. 'They probably think we're going steady or something.'  
  
Sakura glanced at Syaoran to see if he was thinking the same thing, but his head was bowed and well shadowed. She hurried after him towards the back. When the two sat down, she caught a glimpse at Syaoran and she grinned.  
  
"You're blushing!"  
  
Syaoran blushed even harder and he looked up angrily. "I am not!"  
  
Sakura giggled. The waitress came and took their orders, and the two sat over two cups of coffee and spoke about things, nothing really important. Maybe about the new action adventure movie coming into town, on what type of job they would rather have when they were to grow up, and gradually and conversation came to Syaoran's responsibility.  
  
"I don't give a damn about my family. The only real family I have is Meilin and the gang, and they will be my only family forever."  
  
"I know that isn't true, Syaoran, and you know it too!" Sakura said. "Even if it was, you would never be able to say it like that. I know one day that you'll want a wife and a kid, and I'm worried that when you finally do get your own family, your wife will walk out on you and she will take your kid. I know you care!"  
  
Syaoran snorted and dismissed the idea. "Not in a million years."  
  
Sakura sighed. The two were quiet for a while before Syaoran looked down at his watch and said, "We better get up there."  
  
Sakura agreed and the two walked out together, both of them ignoring the stares sent their way.  
When the two got up into the hallway right beside their room, a loud wailing was heard. Sakura slapped her forehead, grabbed the key from Syaoran, slammed open the door, and rushed to the crying Iris doll. Sakura nearly went crazy trying to find out how to make Iris stop crying. She cradled her, fed her the fake microchip food, sung to her, did everything she could in her power, but it just wasn't enough.  
  
Syaoran, who was sitting on the bed and watching, tusked and took the baby from Sakura. Surprisingly, he sung softly to Iris and cradled her gently. The doll nearly instantly stopped crying. Syaoran handed Iris to Sakura and returned to his bed. He took the remote, turned on the T.V., and got lost in a soccer game.  
  
Sakura just stood there, gaping, and holding the silent doll.  
Thanks for all of te reviews! I feel special. ^^; 


	4. There's Always a Miracle in a Story

Part 4: There's Always a Miracle in a Story  
  
My parents did the miracle of miracles those days after the English project. They were acting like best friends. They talked to each other, and then gradually started to tell each other secrets. They even started flirting!  
  
No one knew this except for them, though. It didn't really matter anyways, because outside of the room, dad would hang out with The Dragons, and mommy with her girlfriends.  
  
One day, that snobby Billie Jean started gossiping about the science and history projects. She went on and on about a field trip, and no one believed her until one morning the chaperons and teachers went around with loud, annoying bells. They stopped at every students' room and rang the bell noisily, waking the students to a start.  
  
Mommy and dad were annoyed. Very annoyed. They still went to the main lobby like everyone was supposed to, though. The teachers and chaperons explained that they were to pair up with their 'husband' or 'wife'. They were going to many museums today for the history and science projects, just as Billie Jean had said.  
  
"This totally sucks," Tomoyo sighed as the students boarded the bus. "I'm so sorry, Sakura."  
  
Sakura shrugged to Tomoyo's shock. And then she said to Tomoyo's horror, "It's not that bad. Syaoran has transformed somehow. It's like I'm seeing a totally different him. The other day he invited me to coffee in the café, and he told me a bunch of secrets."  
  
"Like what?" Billie Jean asked, popping out from nowhere.  
  
"If I told you it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?" Sakura replied as she went onto the bus after Tomoyo.  
  
Tomoyo sat down next to Sakura and grinned. "So does this mean my best friend has a crush on a gang member?"  
  
Sakura blushed horribly and shook her head wildly. "Of course not! We're - we're just friends."  
  
"Sure," Naoko said from behind the two.  
  
"Tell me a better lie," Chiharu grinned from beside Naoko.  
  
Sakura puffed her cheeks out angrily.  
  
All day, the class went to boring museums that droned on and on about the history of Japan and China and America and blah, blah, blah. The worst part was that the students actually had to listen because they had to hand in essays on this junk.  
  
Finally, they were at the last stop: an astronomy tower. The many pairs of students had to find constellations. Surprisingly, Syaoran was pretty good at astronomy, so it was absolutely no problem for him and Sakura. In fact, they finished long before the other pairs did.  
  
"You know, Mars is actually a constellation," Syaoran said after a while of silence.  
  
"Really?" Sakura asked, looking curiously at him.  
  
Syaoran nodded. "Yeah. Mars symbolizes the heart of a young man."  
  
Sakura raised her eyebrows incredulously. "Oh, really?"  
  
Syaoran nodded.  
  
"What's the myth? Every constellation has a story to tell, after all."  
  
Syaoran shrugged. "Well. uh. Okay. There was once a man who had fallen deeply in love with a sickly princess. The law had forbidden any common man to be in love with such a beauty. And. It didn't matter anyways because the princess had no idea he even existed. The man. he. uh. He worked at the castle. He knew everything about the girl. She wanted to learn poetry and hear stories about the world, but the king said it was too stupid to want to learn shit - I mean, subjects like that."  
  
Sakura stared blankly at Syaoran. How obvious was it that he was making this up? Very obvious. Sakura allowed Syaoran continued anyways, though.  
  
"The king said she should start thinking about her future. Um. The man. The man, he went up to the girl's window and started reciting poetry and stories for her. The princess fell in love with the mystery man and. She crept out of the window to see who he was. She recognized him for the man that worked in the castle and they ran away to live in the countryside. but."  
  
Syaoran stopped to think. Sakura bit her tongue so she wouldn't laugh.  
  
"But. She died! Yeah, she died of the disease. And the man's heart is Mars, all alone, waiting for the princess's heart to come back to him."  
  
There was a silence like no other silences before Sakura burst out laughing. Syaoran blushed and crossed his arms. "What?"  
  
"You made that up!"  
  
"I - I did not!"  
  
"Oh, really? What's their names?"  
  
Syaoran's mind instantly went blank. He couldn't think of a single name! Syaoran continued to fumble for the first names to come to his mind, but Sakura put up her hand for silence. She was still laughing. The bell rang, signaling time was up, but Sakura couldn't stop.  
  
"It was beautiful, really," Sakura said after she captured control of herself. "I hope you get the names soon and get that story written down."  
  
Sakura stood up and brushed herself off. "I didn't know such an infamous gang fighter could be so poetic," she added as she walked away.  
  
Syaoran stared after Sakura, and he muttered to himself, "Sakura. That will be her name."  
  
"Will the man's name be Syaoran?"  
  
Syaoran jumped and looked into the shadows. A figure moved, and, as he guessed, Meilin stepped from the shadows. "You shouldn't listen in on other people's conversations," Syaoran growled.  
  
"How poetic of you," Meilin smirked. Before Syaoran could reply, she said, "There's still a bet for us to win."  
  
"Thanks for pointing that out," Syaoran sighed. He stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. Meilin stooped down and picked up his leather jacket.  
  
"Five hundred," Meilin continued. "Five hundred dollars will go down the drain if you don't get her into bed quickly!"  
  
"How do you know if I haven't all ready?" Syaoran muttered, taking the jacket from Meilin.  
  
"Easy," Meilin smirked as she started to walk away. "You would've simply told her that the princess's name is Sakura and the man's name is Syaoran."  
  
Syaoran glared after Meilin, but he followed her towards the steps anyways.  
  
The large group of students arrived in the hotel lobby around one o' clock in the morning. They were all talking excitedly, and when Sakura walked in with Tomoyo, the talking went down to even more excited whispers.  
  
Sakura noticed this, but Tomoyo didn't seem to, and she continued talking about how cute Eriol was without his shirt on. She was interrupted when Naoko and Chiharu ran up to them. "Is it true?" the two said together.  
  
"Is what true?" Sakura asked curiously.  
  
Naoko and Chiharu gasped. They turned to each other, then they turned back to Tomoyo and Sakura.  
  
"You mean you don't know?" Chiharu asked all the more quietly, as if everyone was listening hard (which they were).  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo slowly shook their heads, and Naoko bit her lip, but she said:  
  
"There's a rumor. About. About you and."  
  
"Syaoran."  
  
Tomoyo's jaw dropped to the ground, but Sakura just stood there with that curious expression still on her face. After a few seconds, she seemed to register this, and she cocked her head to one side and called out sweetly, "Oh, Billie.!"  
  
Billie Jean grinned and stepped away from the counter. She came towards Sakura and eyed her. "I was hoping I'd find a hair of Syaoran's on you," she smirked.  
  
Sakura's hands twitched. "Well, there wouldn't be. Now what is this about a rumor?"  
  
"You and Syaoran are going steady," Billie sighed. "Sad, isn't it?" she called out to everyone else. The Dragons growled but kept to their positions near the hallway, but everyone else nodded fervently. Sakura shook her head.  
  
"We're not," she announced.  
  
"But Sakura," Billie said in that angelic voice. "Everyone saw you two sitting off by yourselves and talking so passionately! Yet, I guess it wasn't fair of me to say that you were making out since I was the only one who saw you two."  
  
Sakura's hands twitched again, but this time, it was obvious they were rising slightly into the air, as if to wrap around Billie's throat. "I assure you, Syaoran and I weren't making out. Right, Syaoran?"  
  
Sakura looked off to the hall, but she could see then and there that he would be no help. He simply didn't care. He just shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips.  
  
Sakura gaped angrily at Syaoran, but instead of yelling at him, she grabbed Tomoyo's hand, who grabbed Chiharu's hand, who grabbed Naoko's hand. The four of them went up to Sakura's room. Iris, as all of the other babies, had been turned off so no points would be taken. She was currently lying down on Syaoran's bed.  
  
Sakura growled. "Oh, that Dragon! I hate him! How could he not care that such a rumor was spreading around? Doesn't love mean anything to him? Doesn't symbols of love such as kissing mean anything to him? That inconsiderate bastard!"  
  
"You didn't seem to think he was such an inconsiderate bastard when you to were talking so passionately," Chiharu grinned.  
  
Sakura blushed and grabbed a pillow off of her bed. She threw it at Chiharu, who ducked. The pillow hit Tomoyo - or rather, Tomoyo's camera. Tomoyo dropped the camera in surprise and it landed with an ugly crash on the ground.  
  
"Oh, that's it, girlfriend," Tomoyo said angrily. She picked up a pillow and added, "No one messes with the camera!"  
  
The four girls were soon entrapped in a pillow fight.  
  
Sakura rolled over tiredly and opened her eyes. She didn't know what woke her up, and she didn't care either. She was just closing her eyes when she heard a sound. She sat up and looked towards the windowsill.  
  
Syaoran was sitting there, rocking Iris. He must've turned the volume off because fake tears were leaking out of her eyes, but there was no sound coming from her. Sakura would of appreciated this greatly if there wasn't another cigarette stuck in Syaoran's mouth.  
  
"What're you doing?" Sakura yawned.  
  
Syaoran jumped and instantly threw his cigarette out of the window. Syaoran turned slowly and sheepishly to Sakura, who had just gotten out of bed and was standing there with her hands on her hips. She rolled her eyes and walked over to Syaoran and Iris.  
  
"May I try?" Sakura asked, and Syaoran handed Iris to her. Sakura started singing and rocking Iris, but it didn't work. Syaoran shook his head.  
  
"Like this," he said as he took Iris back. He sung softly to her and rocked her gently, and after a second, the tears stopped rolling down the doll's cheek.  
  
"Why didn't you just do that in the beginning?" Sakura asked, and Syaoran shrugged.  
  
"I like rocking her to sleep."  
  
Sakura smiled and sat at the edge of Syaoran's bed. "I'm still angry that you didn't say the rumor wasn't true earlier, but I must say, you're way more different from how I expected you to be."  
  
Syaoran smirked lightly and looked out of the window. He didn't reply. Instead, he put Iris down into the cradle and climbed into his bed. It was as if he was ignoring Sakura, but then, he opened his eyes and looked at the girl that was sitting down on his bed when he was trying to sleep.  
  
"Good night," he simply said and closed his eyes again. 


	5. An Embarrassing Story

Part 5: An Embarrassing Story  
  
This part was the part that really embarrassed me the most, and it's embarrassing to tell it to you, but I'll tell it anyways.  
  
Mommy and dad were definitely hitting it off well. How well was the question at hand. They figured out, however, that one day. See, music and art projects were to be due soon, and it was totally up to them to decide what they were going to do.  
  
While many other students had trouble deciding what to do, mommy and dad decided to go to the beach, take a few pictures, hang out, and then come back in. They would then blow the picture up to a reasonable size, trace it, and paint it. It was easy, and at the same time, they would have fun at the beach. Billie Jean was making her own little definition for 'fun' though.  
  
They went to the beach anyways, but they came back later than expected, so this made the rumor Billie Jean was spreading even bigger. Even Aunty Tomoyo, Aunty Chiharu, and Aunty Naoko didn't believe mommy! The only people who believed dad and mommy were The Dragons. They knew dad so well they could practically predict what he was going to do, and they all knew very well that dad disliked lying down in the sand. It messed up his hair. So unless dad and mommy were having 'fun' in the water or on the rocks, they didn't see how it was possible. The car was still intact, and no one saw dad and mommy enter the hotel before they had come that evening. It was simply impossible.  
  
While dad was saved from the bickering and teasing of his friends, mommy was stuck trying to convince Aunty Tomoyo, Aunty Naoko, and Aunty Chiharu what really happened.  
  
"I swear, we didn't do anything!" Sakura said from the chair.  
  
She was sitting in the middle of a dark room with lights baring down on only her. Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Naoko looked at each other, and then at Billie Jean, who was sitting down on a chair a slight ways away.  
  
"Why are you here?" Sakura asked Billie Jean angrily.  
  
"I was here the whole time," Billie said blankly. "You could've asked me that question a long time ago. You are so like totally changing the subject!"  
  
Chiharu, Tomoyo, and Naoko looked at each other and nodded.  
  
"No I'm not!" Sakura sighed. "All right, all right! I'll tell you what happened! We went to the beach."  
  
Syaoran and I got out of the car -  
  
"And we dropped to the ground banging each other," a male voice came.  
  
The girls jumped, and when they realized it was only Eriol and Takashi, they breathed in relief. Wait, hold up. They had climbed up the wall of the hotel just to get in?!  
  
Chiharu crossed the room and smacked Takashi upside the head. "Don't scare us like that ever again!"  
  
Takashi grinned and shrugged. "Sorry. So, how do we know if Sakura is telling the truth?"  
  
"You should trust Sakura," Eriol said, grinning at Tomoyo who was smiling back.  
  
Billie Jean rolled her eyes. "Anyways! Takashi is right. For all we know, they really did drop to the ground and start banging each other."  
  
"But that's not what happened!" Sakura said urgently.  
  
"I wish I had seen it," Naoko sighed. "Then I could've written down notes and based a story on it."  
  
"I wish I was there with my camera," Tomoyo sighed. Eriol patted her on the head, and Tomoyo giggled and poked him.  
  
Billie Jean, ignoring the flirting of the two, shook her head. "Listen, I think we really are just going to have to trust Sakura."  
  
"Thank you!" Sakura breathed.  
  
"Then I'll make my own version," Billie Jean added, and Tomoyo had to hurry in between Sakura and Billie Jean so that Sakura wouldn't jump up and kill Billie Jean.  
  
"Continue!" Chiharu demanded, and Sakura, though still glaring at Billie, nodded.:  
  
We stepped out of the car and we did not start banging each other!  
  
Ahem.  
  
I glanced at Syaoran. He seemed to be peaceful today. He didn't even seem to have a craving for cigarettes. Of course, he probably just snuck one or two in when I went for breakfast with Tomoyo.  
  
We walked around for a while before Syaoran said that we should go up to the rocks and take a picture from there. I agreed and followed him up. It was quite a climb, but nothing that I couldn't handle. We reached the top finally and we dropped to the ground, both of us panting.  
  
But Syaoran stopped panting slightly and gasped. His eyes glazed over and I turned around to see what he was looking at. What a sight! The water was like diamonds. You could see right through the water. I could even see a little crab down in there! And all of the fish! But that wasn't everything.  
  
The palm trees shone in the golden sun and the sand was so. I don't know. sandy. It was a sight for sights.  
  
"This is amazing," I breathed. I reached for my camera, but Syaoran put his hand on mine and stopped me from getting it.  
  
"Imagine what it'll be like at sunset."  
  
He looked at me and grinned, and I couldn't help but grin back. This was awesome. I didn't know what Syaoran was thinking, but I was thinking that I sure was lucky to be up at the top of the rocks all alone with the hunk of all hunks. No Billie Jean to start rumors, no tourists making any noise. Just the sweet song of the wind and the birds.  
  
We sat there for the longest while. We ate the lunch we packed and talked about everything we could think of until there was nothing else to talk about. I had an idea in my head, but it definitely wasn't for sharing. The idea was something that was forbidden, but I couldn't help but think that maybe I liked Syaoran. Maybe even loved him.  
  
I looked up to see Syaoran staring at me. He blushed, but he didn't seem to be able to look away, and I couldn't help but laugh. Syaoran snapped out of the trance, and we giggled together. The giggles went on to chuckles and then hysterical laughter. We couldn't stop laughing! I thought that maybe someone put laughing juice in the food and I laughed only harder.  
  
After how long only God knows, we regained control. We sat in silence again, and Syaoran checked his watch.  
  
"One hour until sunset," he noted.  
  
I sighed in boredom. I then glanced down at the beautiful beach. "Hey, lets go for a swim."  
  
"You're crazy," Syaoran simply said, and just to prove how crazy I was, I grabbed his arm and jumped up, pulling him up with me. I then jumped down, off of the rocks, and into the ocean, bringing him down with me.  
  
I swam to the top and gasped for breath. I looked around, grinning madly. My grin faded when I didn't see Syaoran return to the surface. But then I rolled my eyes. It was so obvious he was pretending to need help. I decided I'd let him come up to the top when he needed air, but then something grabbed onto my waist. I was brought down under the surface and I struggled to get away.  
  
Finally, I saw that it was Syaoran playing around with me. He let me go and we both went to the surface, but I barely let Syaoran get a gasp of air before I dunked him under.  
  
That was how we missed the sunset. An hour of playing around, and we missed the sunset, seeing that the camera was up on the rocks. But then we were suddenly happy, no, overjoyed that we missed the sunset, because the sight to see afterwards was all the better.  
  
The full moon made the dark, mysterious waters shine in slivers of silver. The sand turned a sandy gray, and the palm trees seemed to glow. It was perfect -  
  
"And that's all?" Tomoyo asked as Sakura hesitated.  
  
Sakura started to nod, but Billie Jean interrupted her with a rather un- angelic statement.  
  
"Seriously," Chiharu said. "Why'd you hesitate? Are you denying your friends a love scene?"  
  
They all peered down expectantly at Sakura. She gulped and sighed.  
  
"Fine, fine, sit down.It came as a surprise what Syaoran did. We had taken the photographs we needed and we were heading towards the car when he stopped me and kissed me."  
  
"Like. Graphic detail needed over here!" Billie Jean said, snapping her fingers hastily.  
  
"No way," Sakura said. "Isn't that enough rumor for you to spread? I mean, Syaoran Li kissed me!"  
  
"I know," Billie Jean said as if she'd heard the most disgusting thing in the world.  
  
"My poor Sakura!" Tomoyo sobbed. Eriol put his arm around her to comfort her (*cough*yeahright*cough*).  
  
"The horrible thing about it is that she liked it," Takashi said, shaking his head. Chiharu knocked him over the head again.  
  
"How romantic," Naoko sighed.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You guys, it was just a friendly kiss!"  
  
The room was silent before laughter rung out. Billie Jean was down on all fours, pounding the ground as she laughed hysterically. Chiharu had backed into the wall laughing. Naoko had dropped her glasses because she was laughing so hard, and Eriol had to hold onto Tomoyo because she was laughing so hard she looked like she was about to faint.  
  
"Some friends you are," Sakura muttered.  
  
"T-that's not it!" Tomoyo breathed. She regained her balance and clutched at her side. "We are your friends! B-but." Tomoyo went off into laughter again.  
  
"A friendly kiss?!" Billie Jean screeched. She rolled her and kicked her legs into the air. "You mean you really think Syaoran doesn't think more of you than a friend?!"  
  
Sakura frowned and shook her head.  
  
The laughter in the room grew louder.  
  
"Hey, Sakura," Billie grinned from the one side of the hall. Sakura and Syaoran had been on their way to the room. It was just last night Sakura had made her confessions to her friends and Billie Jean, yet it seemed like she hadn't at all.  
  
Yet she had, and she told Syaoran too. Syaoran didn't seem to care, though. In fact, they had just gone down to the café to talk about it. And an amazing thing happened. Syaoran didn't blush once! Well, okay. He did blush just a tiny bit. At that one point.  
  
"It doesn't help to be walking with the man of the kiss," Billie continued.  
  
Syaoran growled, but Sakura put out her hand. "Excuse me, Syaoran, can I speak to Billie alone? Please?"  
  
Syaoran glared at Billie, but he stalked off down the hall anyways.  
  
"Billie, look, I know it's your job to be the major gossiper and everything, but please, can you please stop?"  
  
"Hold on, hold on," Billie snorted. "Gossip? Who said anything about gossip? This is the real deal, Sakura! Are you really that dense or have you just never been liked before?"  
  
A distant, "I love you Sakura!" was heard, and Billie rolled her eyes. "Okay, so I guess that means you're dense."  
  
"There isn't anything going on between us!" Sakura said hotly. "We're friends!"  
  
"Sakura?" Syaoran's voice came from around the corner. "Aren't you done talking to that girl yet?"  
  
"He seems eager," Billie said, speaking loud enough to make sure Syaoran heard. Syaoran came fully around the corner with an angry Meilin at his side.  
  
"Sic her," Syaoran said dully, and Meilin launched herself at Billie Jean.  
  
As Syaoran and Sakura walked around the corner of the hallway, screams of pain coming from Billie Jean were heard. Sakura almost felt sorry for her. Almost.  
  
"Hey, Sakura!" a voice beckoned from the ladies' room. Sakura peered in and saw that Billie Jean, with her arm in a cast and a black eye. She looked around, and as Sakura walked in and closed the door, Billie Jean stood there sullenly.  
  
"What?" Sakura asked.  
  
"This is not a rumor. This is not a lie. I'm telling you this for your own good. Syaoran. he. The only reason he's been getting close to you is because he has a bet with the other Dragons that he can get you into bed."  
  
Sakura instantly sat down on the sink. She shook her head. "No, quit it, Billie. That's not true." Yet even as she said the words, more and more was making sense to her. Inviting her to the café, being so nice to her, kissing her. All of it. A bet. A lie. They probably even set up the rumor that Syaoran liked her since the seventh grade so that Billie Jean could find out and spread it.  
  
"I heard them in the lobby a few minutes ago. I'm so sorry, Sakura."  
  
Billie Jean was genuinely sad, and she decided to leave Sakura to herself. If anyone was to help her feel better, it should be Tomoyo, her best friend, not herself, her arch enemy.  
  
Sakura was in the bathroom for what must've been an hour before she ran out. She rushed towards her hotel room and opened it before dropping down onto her bed and sobbing. It was late in night before Syaoran finally returned, and when he saw Sakura's soaked pillow, he instantly got concerned.  
  
"Sakura? Sakura, what's wrong?"  
  
"You know what's wrong," Sakura muttered. She looked up and Syaoran saw that there were still fresh tears in her eyes. "You know fully well what's wrong."  
  
Syaoran shook his head, but he didn't have time to reply.  
  
"Since I'm just some cheap object, why don't you take me right now?!" Sakura yelled. She threw the pillow at Syaoran, who caught it.  
  
He was in a trance. He knew then and there that Sakura had found out about the bet, though how, he wasn't sure. "Sakura. Sakura, that was in the past! It's different now-"  
  
"Really!" Sakura yelled. She jumped off of the bed. "It's that different? Two days ago you kissed me Syaoran! You lied to me for, what, the millionth time, just to get me in bed so you could win a dumb bet?!"  
  
"I don't care about it anymore-"  
  
"Since I found out!" Sakura screamed in frustration and grabbed the picture the two of them had been working on. She tore it in half and threw one half at Syaoran. "I refuse to work with you anymore!"  
  
"I'm sorry!"  
  
Sakura slapped him so hard Syaoran staggered back into the wall. Sakura glared at Syaoran, while Syaoran just stared at her. A second later, Iris started wailing. Sakura and Syaoran glanced at her. They probably made too much noise (understatement). Sakura and Syaoran looked back at each other. Sakura looked back at Iris, then back at Syaoran, then back at Iris and she crossed the room to the wailing doll. She walked towards the door, Iris in her arms, and muttered to Syaoran, "I'll be at Tomoyo's if you need me," and with that, she slammed the door shut.  
  
Syaoran groaned and ran his fingers through his hair.  
  
'One day you'll want a wife and a kid, and I'm worried that when you finally do get your own family, your wife will walk out on you and she will take your kid. I know you care.'  
  
"Syaoran!" the door burst open. Meilin was standing there with a highly annoyed look on her face. "Billie Jean just found out that the art and music projects are to be presented!"  
  
Syaoran bit on his tongue so he wouldn't yell out a colorful curse, and he kicked angrily at the bed side. 


	6. A Torn Story

Part 6: A Torn Story  
  
I thought I saw a man brought to life, He was warm, he came around like he was dignified , He showed me what it was to cry,  
  
Well you couldn't be that man that I that adore, You don't seem to know, seem to care what your heart is for, And I don't know him anymore more.  
  
There's nothing where he used to lie, The conversation has run dry, That's what's going on,  
  
Nothing's fine; I'm torn. I'm all out of faith, This is how I feel, I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor, And you should have never changed into something real, I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn, You're a little late, I'm all ready torn.  
  
So I guess the fortune teller is right, Should have seen just what was there and not some holy light, But you crawl beneath my veins and now,  
  
I don't care, I had no luck, I don't miss it all that much,  
  
There's just so many things, That I can't touch. I'm torn.  
  
I'm all out of faith, This is how I feel, I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor, And you should have never changed into something real, I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn,  
  
You're a little late, I'm all ready torn, Torn.  
  
There's nothing where he used to lie, My inspiration has run dry, That's what's going on, Nothing's right; I'm torn.  
  
I'm all out of faith, This is how I feel, I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor, And you should have never changed into something real, I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn.  
  
I'm all out of faith, This is how I feel , I'm cold and I'm ashamed bound and broken on the floor, You're a little late, I'm all ready torn. Torn.  
  
Sakura sat alone in the room one downcast day. She decided to look through her photo album and picked a picture that matched how her heart felt - rainy and dark. The stairs to an old, broken down apartment were in the picture. It was pouring rain so hard that you could barely see one lone flower on the right side of the stair case.  
  
Syaoran, meanwhile, was in the café by himself, thinking about the mistakes he made. He took the letter he was going to mail to his family and read it over. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and started to smoke, but an image of Sakura came to his mind. He sighed and put the cigarette away.  
  
Sakura was carefully sketching the staircase. She was thinking to herself that she needed water to make the rain look more effective, but then a tear fell down onto the paper. She gasped and put her hand against her cheek and realized that she had been crying.  
  
Syaoran was walking alone down the street. It started to rain, but he didn't seem to care. He looked up into a window and saw his reflection. He was a mess. His hair was messy and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. He was also skinnier than usual. He then looked through the window and he saw that it was a toy store. He watched a particular family of three. A dad, a mom, and a little girl. He watched them leave the store.  
  
He sighed and walks off again with only one sentence echoing through his head: "You will care."  
  
Sakura had just finished her piece. Iris started crying, and Sakura picked her up and started to cradle her gently and sing softly to her, but it just wouldn't work. At that moment, Syaoran walked in. Sakura and Syaoran glanced at each other, and Syaoran, without words, toke Iris and sung her to sleep. He gave Iris back to Sakura, sat down on his own bed, and got to work on his project. 


	7. And so the Story Ends Epilogue

Part 7: And So the Story Ends  
  
"Sakura, are you sure you're okay?"  
  
Sakura nodded 'yes'. Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Naoko glanced at each other.  
  
"Are you positive - ?"  
  
"Yes!" Sakura said. She sighed. "Come on, the art and music projects are about to be presented."  
  
The four girls walked out of Tomoyo's room. Down the empty, lonely corridors. Through the plain, oversized doors. And finally, into the lobby, which was invaded by bustling, loud students. Sakura instantly picked out Syaoran from the large group. He was sitting by the staircase with his gang, as usual.  
  
Sakura angrily tore her gaze away. She and her three friends walked off to join a large group of friends.  
  
"May I have your attention please!" Freddy Young announced. "Thank you! Now, I'm sure many of you have heard a rumor about the projects being presented, but that's only half true - "  
  
All glares turned towards Billie Jean. She grinned sheepishly and shrugged, holding her hands up in defense.  
  
"The teachers have voted upon the three best projects. When your name is called, please receive your project from Lauren Huck, she's right over there. Okay, in 3rd place. Cy Bate!"  
  
There was a loud applause, yet Lauren's could be heard over all of them. Cy, blushing, walked up onto the stage, holding a portrait of Lauren. After presenting it, there was another applause. Maybe it was fate after all.  
  
"Very nice, well done," Freddy Young said, clapping himself. "All right, and now, in 2nd place. Sakura Kinomoto!"  
  
All of the girls stood up to clap and cheer. Sakura's mind was taken off her resentment towards Syaoran. She went to Lauren, received her painting, and jumped up onto the stage with a broad grin on her face. She presented it, and the applause started again, louder than ever.  
  
"That's such a good painting, Sakura," Chiharu commented when Sakura sat down next to her.  
  
"Thanks," Sakura said with a grin.  
  
"And in 1st place!" Freddy Young said, recapturing everyone's attention, ". Wait, this can't be right."  
  
There was a murmuring. Freddy looked towards the teachers, who all nodded and beckoned him to go ahead. "All right. In 1st place, it's Syaoran Li."  
  
Everyone, including Syaoran, blinked in amazement. There was confusion until Freddy said, "Come on up, Syaoran, and present your project."  
  
Syaoran took his papers from Lauren and walked up onto the stage. Everyone was staring at him.  
  
"Um. I wrote a song. It's called 'Mars the Constellation.'"  
  
Everyone, except for Sakura and the Dragons, expected to hear a mind- shattering, dead voice, but they were surprised for two times in the night. Sakura was trying hard not to listen - she didn't want anything to do with Syaoran - but then the song sounded so familiar. It was about the sickly princess and the man who ran away to live in the country side. Except this time, the song ended happily. The ended up having a baby girl and the princess lived with the man for a long, long time. And this time, the two had names: Xiang and Sakura.  
  
Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. Why would he possibly name the princess after her, of all people?  
  
The Dragons exchanged glances.  
  
"That was truly beautiful," Tomoyo breathed.  
  
"You would never expect something like that from Syaoran Li!" Chiharu said in amazement.  
  
The four girls were walking back up to the corridors along with everyone else, who was all muttering about Syaoran's ballad.  
  
"Say, Sakura, where's your project?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Sakura blinked. "Weren't we supposed to leave them there?"  
  
"No," Naoko shook her head. "The winners are supposed to take them home."  
  
Home. Sakura gasped. Had it really been two weeks? It seemed like two months.  
  
BAM!  
  
"Sakura?" Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Naoko cried. They whirled around.  
  
Instead of walking through the doorframe, Sakura had walked into it.  
  
The three girls ran back and helped Sakura up, all of them giggling. Sakura massaged the spot on her forehead where she had collided with the doorframe.  
  
"I'm all right," Sakura said in a daze. "Go on ahead - I need to get back my project."  
  
"Okay," the three girls said. They turned around and walked off. Sakura turned back in the opposite direction.  
  
The lobby was empty. Sakura went to the table where she and her friends were sitting; she picked up her painting and turned back, but she froze when she saw The Dragons entering the lobby. She jumped behind a plant and knelt there, not breathing.  
  
Terry Rock smirked. "I don' think chu'll get Sa'ura in bed by bein' roma'tic."  
  
Sakura blushed in shame, but to her great surprise, she heard Syaoran say, "The deal is off."  
  
Sakura was sure he had knocked herself silly when she had walked into that doorframe, but she still perked her ears up with rapt attention when she heard footsteps. Syaoran was walking away. But then by the loud bang and yelp, she could tell one of the gang members had somehow attacked Syaoran.  
  
"Lay off, Crow!" Meilin yelled.  
  
"What d'chu mean, 'the deal's off?!'" Terry yelled.  
  
"I mean exactly what I said. If it's the cash you want, fine. I'll give it to you - "  
  
"Just as long as it's only you," Meilin muttered.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll pay."  
  
But by the sound of it, the other members didn't want Syaoran to leave just yet.  
  
"Wait, Xiang."  
  
Xiang? Sakura rose her eyebrows, trying not to miss even a breath.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You've been drifting further and further away from us ever since you started liking that Sakura girl back in the seventh grade."  
  
Sakura's eyes widened. She thought that rumor was - well - just a rumor! She wouldn't have ever thought that it was real - not after the way Syaoran treated her -  
  
"I don't know what you mean."  
  
"Xiang, if you want to stay in the gang, you'll have to at least try to get Sakura into bed."  
  
Sakura's dignity was ripped to pieces once again, and for what must've been the thousandth time, she was surprised by Syaoran.  
  
"No."  
  
"What? What the hell do you mean by that?"  
  
"I'm not going to do that to Sakura just for a lousy bet, or even for a dumbass command."  
  
"Chu know what, Xiang? We thin' chu've gotten pretty soft."  
  
"Maybe so."  
  
Syaoran's footsteps could be heard once again, and this time, they weren't stopped.  
  
"Meilin, he's kicked off the Dragons."  
  
"I know. and I think he knows too."  
  
The gang was silent for a while before their footsteps were heard.  
  
Sakura, clutching her painting, chewed on the inside of her cheeks. What did this mean? Had Syaoran truly changed? Was he a new Syaoran? Had Xiang been a part of Syaoran for a long time, but was now buried in the past? Xiang. Syaoran's gang name, maybe even Chinese name. He had named the characters in his story after them!  
  
Sakura smiled slightly, blushing. Oh, no, she had to catch Syaoran before he went to bed!  
  
She jumped up and ran down the empty corridors. She burst into the shared room, to find a shocked Syaoran. He stared at her, she stared at him, and the next second, they were sprawled on the floor, Sakura glomping him tightly, kissing him all over his face.  
  
Syaoran was blushing madly.  
  
Tomoyo walked in, unnoticed. At first, she was surprised, but then she smiled and thought, 'Well, it's about time.' She walked outside of the room, muttering something about gangs, cameras, Mars, and ballads.  
  
Epilogue  
  
They went home the next day on the bus. Everyone was singing happily. Turns out Cy Bate and Lauren Huck really were meant for each other. Billie Jean had decided to try and cut down on gossiping. Meilin had, to everyone's surprise, decided to quit The Dragon gang. She made up the excuse that it was getting boring, but everyone knew she quit because dad was kicked out. Dad didn't nag mommy once on the ride home; instead, Meilin, dad, and mommy talked, and, once again, to everyone's surprise, Sakura and Meilin turned out to be pretty good friends. Sadly, mommy and dad didn't do as well on the baby project as they hoped (mostly because of Syaoran's smoking and the fights they had), but they did pass with a C plus.  
  
Turns out mommy and dad did get married, and they had a daughter they named Iris. Hey, that's me! They didn't get to live on the countryside like how dad said in the constellation story, but they did leave for the Li Estate in China. Dad had just missed the funeral for granddad, and mommy said he was pretty sad for a long time, but he did take on the role as the Leader of the Li Clan. This means that, eventually, I'm going to have to get a little brother so that he can take the role as Leader when it's time, but that's a totally different story.  
  
END  
  
....; Yeah... Um, I kinda forgot to say earlier that for some reason the story was unloaded... and so now it's reloaded! *Cheer* Plus it's finished! *Another cheer* Thanks for all of the reviews! They were great! 


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